This invention relates generally to clamp shells for mounting electric cigar lighters in panels or other support surfaces of automobiles, and more particularly to improvements relating to constructions disclosed and claimed in the U.S. application Ser. No. 497,094 identified above.
Electric cigar lighters are generally inserted in a panel such as an automobile dashboard from the front, and secured at the rear by installation of a tubular clamp shell which fits over the body of the lighter, and which has a threaded end that is screwed onto a cooperable thread formation at the inner end of the lighter socket. The socket usually has an annular flange or curl at its front, which surrounds the opening in the panel. In the past, these clamp shells were made as a single drawn sheet metal piece, with the threads being formed following the drawing operation, in a thread-rolling machine. The front of the shell was adapted to engage the rear surface of the dashboard, and the shell was tightened until the dashboard was firmly sandwiched between the shell and the curl of the socket.
While such an arrangement has found wide acceptance in the industry, a number of refinements have been made over the years in order to achieve lowered manufacturing cost through the use of less expensive parts, and reduced labor. In addition, the designs previously employed had to be modified somewhat as a result of changes in the requirements dictated by the construction of the newer model vehicles. For example, many of the panels that carry electric cigar lighters are now constituted of plastic, which generally must be somewhat thicker than the prior metal dashboards, this necessitating modification of the dimensions of the various parts. Also, due to a vastly increased number of options being supplied on the typical vehicle, as well as reductions in the available space that each system could occupy, there arose problems with accessibility to the various components, especially those in the engine compartment, and those located beneath the dashboard or instrument panel. In some instances the available space was insufficient to accommodate the older types of lighters and connectors or fixtures. In spite of the restrictions in the allowable space, care had to be exercised in order to insure that the various parts could be installed without difficulty. The same was true where repair or replacement of particular components or assemblies was involved. Newer electrical snap-on fittings that facilitated wiring could not be accommodated in prior lighter structures, due to existing clamp arrangements.